Photo by Joe Woodhouse
I may be a meat eater, but I’m a meat eater who absolutely adores vegetables, and I’m always on the lookout for varied ways to make more of them. I don’t say this to imply that a book of plant-based recipes needs to be validated by a carnivore – absolutely not – but because I feel that Big Veg Energy has universal appeal. I got hungrier and hungrier as I turned its bright and beautiful pages and alighted on Crispy Artichokes with Nori Mayo; Sweet Potatoes with Tahini Butter Chickpeas; Sun-Dried Tomato, Chilli and Basil Butter Bean Pasta; Coconut Curried Lentil Dahl; Roasted Chilli and Squash Spelt with Smoky Sunflower Seed Crunch; Green Coconut Noodle Soup; Ginger and Miso Noodle Soup; One-Pot Miso Mushroom Pasta Bake; Chocolate Tart with Salted Oat Base; and Banana Tahini Ice Cream with Pecan Caramel Crumbles. And that’s just skimming the surface of what Christina Soteriou has to offer here.
It really is a book to lift the spirits, which is just what we need as we edge our way into a grizzly and grim February! And the recipe I’ve chosen from it to share with you today is this sumptuous, speedy and sustaining Chickpea and Blistered Tomato Stew.
Big Veg Energy by Christina Soteriou (Ebury Press, £26).
Photography by Joe Woodhouse.
